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Welcome to the World of Trick Geography
We are happy to provide you with this sample booklet for Trick Geography and hope it will
give you a better understanding of why students and teachers like it.
Trick Geography is simple to teach, fun to learn, and easy to remember. Delightful graphics,
dot-to-dots, phonetic connectors, and fill-in-the blanks take the chore out of teaching and
learning geography and appeal to a wide range of ages and learning styles. Students actually
look forward to their next lesson.
Teachers gain confidence and enthusiasm once they see how simple Trick Geography is to
teach. The program is designed to require virtually no preparation or learning curve, saving
time and the tedium trying to follow complicated instructions.
Have trouble pronouncing foreign countries and capitals? Trick Geography even includes
pronunciation guides to keep things moving.
Now you can enjoy teaching and learning geography with confidence and success!
This booklet includes four sample lessons which include:
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South Central US States
South Central US Capitals
Central European Countries
Central European Capitals
If you have questions or are interested in group discounts, please contact us at:
[email protected]
or call (248) 212-7422
Visit us at:
www.TrickGeography.com
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What Trick Geography Teaches
US Edition
 States, shapes, capitals
 Major bodies of water, mountains, deserts, plains
World Edition
 Countries, shapes, capitals
 Major bodies of water, mountains, peninsulas, deserts, plains
Trick Geography Reviews
“Trick Geography is the best tool I have encountered for making geography easy to learn and
remember. I have taught every continent using this program. Parents consistently remark
that their children really know the countries and capitals. It is easy to teach and provides
long lasting recall of information that isn't always easy to remember.”
—Kate, homeschool mom, co-op instructor
“Trick Geography is fun! I like the pictures and the words that match.” —Katie, age 9
“This new and creative approach to geography has helped me learn the names, locations,
shapes, and the surrounding geography of the countries and their capitals easily and
effectively." —Abigail, age 15
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How Trick Geography Works
States and countries are taught by drawing an object within their outlines. The object either
sounds like the name of the state or country or is associated with it.
Object that sounds like a state:
Pennsylvania looks like a box of pencils.
Pencils=Pennsylvania
Object associated with a country:
China looks like a panda.
Panda=China
Capitals are taught by adding a second object to the first. A trick sentence is given to
provide meaning to the new image.
“She drew a hairy bird with pencils."
Hairy bird=Harrisburg
“The panda is in a bear swing.”
Bear swing=Beijing
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Geographical features may be taught in the same way as states and countries.
For example, the Red Sea looks like a red ant.
Red Ant=Red Sea
Other geographical features are taught with sentences that make connections between the
feature and a state or country already learned.
For example, we connect the Gobi desert to Mongolia with the following sentence:
“The monkey (Mongolia) grew a goatee.”
Both editions include comprehensive tests, the world tests available in a separate test book.
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Sample Lessons for Teaching States and Countries
Step-by-step instructions appear in the teacher guides. Abbreviated instructions are provided
here:
1. The teacher will read the name of the state or country and have the student locate it
on both maps of the student book.
2. The teacher will read the description of the object and have the student trace the
dotted lines.
3. The teacher will read the trick words and have the student write them in the blanks.
4. Review each of the states or countries by having the student say the trick words first
followed by the name of the state or country.
Ex. “A mouse that scurries. Missouri.”
On the following pages are sample lessons taken from the US student book and teacher guide
for teaching the South Central US States.
The student book is in landscape form and opens from bottom to top like a calendar. Each
lesson consists of a 2-page layout.
The student book pages will appear first followed by the corresponding teacher guide page.
SAMPLE
STUDENT BOOK
SOUTH CENTRAL US STATES
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SAMPLE
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TEACHER GUIDE
SOUTH CENTRAL US STATES
State
1. Oklahoma
2. Kansas
Picture
a pot of okra at home
a tin can
Trick Words
Okra home
Can
3. Missouri
a mouse that scurries
Mouse scurries
4. Arkansas
an ark that Ann saw
Ark Ann saw
5. Louisiana
“L,” the first letter in Louisiana
6. Texas
Tex, a person associated with Texas
L
Tex
SAMPLE
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Sample Lessons for Teaching Capitals
Step-by-step instructions appear in the teacher guides. Abbreviated instructions are provided
here:
1. The teacher will ask the student to name the state or country.
2. The teacher will read the name of the capital along with the trick sentence and have
the student circle the new object.
3. The teacher will read the trick words and have the student write them in the blanks.
4. Review each of the capitals by having the student say the trick sentence first followed
by the name of the capital.
Ex. “The mouse scurries away from the ref in the City. Jefferson City.”
On the following pages are sample lessons taken from the US student book and teacher guide
for teaching the South Central US Capitals.
Once again, the student book is in landscape form and opens from bottom to top like a
calendar. Each lesson consists of a 2-page layout.
The student book pages will appear first followed by the corresponding teacher guide page.
SAMPLE
STUDENT BOOK
SOUTH CENTRAL US CAPITALS
10
SAMPLE
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TEACHER GUIDE
SOUTH CENTRAL US CAPITALS
Capital
1. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
2. Topeka, Kansas
3. Jefferson City, Missouri
4. Little Rock, Arkansas
5. Baton Rouge, Louisiana
(BAA-tihn RUZH)
6. Austin, Texas
Picture Blank
She cooked two pots of okra
at home in the city.
She kicked the can with her toe pick.
The mouse scurries away from
the ref in the city.
Trick Words
Okra home City
Toe pick
Ref in the City
The ark Ann saw landed on a little rock.
Little Rock
An “L” looks like a baton run over
by a luge.
Baton luge
Tex is tossed in the air.
Tossed in
SAMPLE
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Sample lessons teaching Central European Countries appear on the following pages.
Instructions are on page 5.
SAMPLE
STUDENT BOOK
CENTRAL EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
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4
SAMPLE
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TEACHER GUIDE
CENTRAL EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
Country
1. Germany
2. Czech Republic
(CHEHK)
3. Poland
Picture
a German chocolate cake
a checked neck tie that belongs
to a Republican
a polar bear
Trick Words
German
Checked Republican
Polar
4. Slovakia
a slow hockey puck
Slow hockey puck
5. Hungary
a hungry pair of lips
Hungry
an ostrich
Ostrich
a piece of licorice
Licorice
6. Austria
7. Lichtenstein
(LIHK-tehn-stien)
8. Switzerland
a wedge of melting Swiss cheese
Swiss
SAMPLE
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Sample lessons teaching Central European Capitals appear on the following pages.
Instructions are on page 9.
SAMPLE
STUDENT BOOK
CENTRAL EUROPEAN CAPITALS
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SAMPLE
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TEACHER GUIDE
CENTRAL EUROPEAN CAPITALS
Capital
1. Berlin, Germany
2. Prague, Czech Republic
(PRAHG)
3. Warsaw, Poland
Picture
The German chocolate cake is in a burlap bag.
A frog is wearing the checked neck tie
that belongs to a Republican.
The polar bear has fought in many wars.
Trick Words
Burlap
Frog
Wars
4. Bratislava, Slovakia
(braa-tihs-LAH-vah)
The slow hockey puck knocked
the brat into lava.
Brat in lava
5. Budapest, Hungary
(BOO-dah-pehst)
The hungry lips think food is best.
Food is best
6. Vienna, Austria
(vee-AA-nuh)
The ostrich ate a Vienna sausage.
Vienna
7. Vaduz, Lichtenstein
(vah-DOOZ)
They ate licorice in their canoes.
Canoes
8. Bern, Switzerland
Don’t burn the Swiss cheese.
Burn
SAMPLE